2 Kings 16-25 Teaching Activities and Insights
- Benjamin Wilcox
- 4 hours ago
- 44 min read
TEACHING ACTIVITIES
LESSON #1 THE VOICE OUTSIDE THE WALL (2 Kings 18)
TRUTH:
When I recognize the adversary’s arguments, I am better prepared to resist them.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
What gives me a fire in the bones for this lesson? It’s relevance! We live in a world filled with voices competing for our attention and confidence. Some voices invite us to seek truth, come closer to Christ, repent, act courageously, and become better. Others may sound equally confident but lead primarily toward fear, cynicism, distrust, helplessness, or surrender. Rab-shakeh’s speech outside the walls of Jerusalem gives students a powerful opportunity to examine that difference. His goal wasn’t to merely share information. He was trying to weaken the people’s confidence until they willingly abandoned what they believed.
This lesson should not teach students to fear difficult questions or dismiss every criticism. Honest questions can lead to greater understanding and stronger faith. Rab-shakeh, however, was not honestly seeking truth. He mocked, distorted, threatened, misrepresented, and made promises he could not keep. His example can help students recognize an important pattern: before the adversary tries to overcome our commitment, he often tries to undermine our confidence.
OBJECT:
For an object, just find a pole and tie a white cloth, towel, or bandanna to it. This, of course, is a universal symbol for surrender or giving up. This lesson is focused on staying strong and NOT giving up. At certain points in the lesson you can pick up the flag and encourage your students not to wave they’re white flag when things get hard.
ICEBREAKER:
For an icebreaker, display the following four pictures and ask what they all have in common. A white flag, hands raised, a sword being laid down, and a king chess piece laying on its side. And they’re sure to get it. They all mean surrender. Then ask this accompanying discussion question:
What could persuade someone to surrender even when they have not yet been defeated?
Then to transition you could say: In today’s lesson, we’re going to meet a group of people who were being pressured to surrender before the battle had even begun—and we’ll see the arguments used to try to convince them to do so. Hopefully, we’ll learn from their example how to stay strong even when compelling reasons are given to give up.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
In the insight video from four years ago, I spent a lot of time setting up the Historical Background for this section of the Old Testament. But I realized that it’s probably not realistic to spend that much time on the history and still have enough left over to have a meaningful lesson on this story. So instead, this time around, I would briefly set up the context of the story by sharing the following:
Assyria was the dominant military power of the ancient world at the time of 2 Kings. It had already conquered most of the nations in the area, including the northern kingdom of Israel and now they were surrounding Jerusalem as one of the last major holdouts in the entire region. The people inside the city were badly outnumbered, without a sufficient army to go out and fight such a powerful force. From a military standpoint, all they had between them and certain defeat were the walls of Jerusalem. At that point, the Assyrians send a spokesman named Rab-shakeh to persuade them to surrender without a fight. He stands outside the walls and deliberately speaks in the people’s own language so everyone could hear. His goal was to frighten them, divide them from Hezekiah, their righteous king, weaken their trust in God, and talk them into leaving the safety of the city.
Now their situation may feel distant from ours, but the pressure they faced is still very familiar. We may not have an Assyrian army camped outside our walls, but disciples of Christ are still surrounded by voices inviting them to surrender—to give up faith, lower standards, distrust God, or accept the belief that obedience is outdated and resistance is pointless. Those voices may come through culture, entertainment, social media, temptation, criticism, or even our own discouraging thoughts. Or more generally speaking, Satan is the ultimate Rab-shakeh taunting and inviting us to give up. Like the people of Jerusalem, the question is not whether we will hear those voices. The question is whether we will allow them to weaken our confidence and persuade us to come out from behind what we know to be true.
SEARCH ACTIVITY:
For the main meat of the lesson, I like to do an “In Your Own Words” activity. Tell your students that you’ll read different portions of Rab-Shakeh’s message and their job is to put his arguments into modern language. What’s the message he’s sending that the adversary continues to use against people of faith today?
If you’d like a more interactive lesson activity, you could divide the class into four groups and assign each group one section of Rab-shakeh’s speech.
Here are the four messages I would want them to discover. They don’t have to word the arguments exactly the same way that I have them here though. Go with their phrase and offer help when needed.
Argument 1: 2 Kings 18:19-22. Your faith in God is vain and foolish. The things you believe in can’t save you.
Argument 2: 2 Kings 18:29-31, but stop just after the first phrase in verse 31. Your leaders are deceiving you. Don’t trust what they are telling you.
Argument 3: 2 Kings 18:31-32. Give up and life will be easier. Join us and everything will be better.
Argument 4: 2 Kings 18:33-35. Others have fallen. What makes you think your story will be any different? Everybody’s doing it.
In the insight video, I go into much more depth on how those arguments are manifested in a modern context. But that discussion should make up the bulk of your lesson. We want to help our students to see that Satan and the world are still using the same old arguments to get to abandon the walls of our faith.
Now after each one of those arguments is highlighted and perhaps written on the board, you could point out that even though each of the arguments sounds different, they all share the same target: confidence (or faith).
The adversary wants us to stop trusting: God, the prophet, the promises of obedience, and our own ability to remain strong and faithful. Rab-shakeh could not force the people out from behind the walls of Jerusalem, so he tried to talk them into coming out. The adversary often works in a similar way. He may not be able to force us to abandon faith, covenants, or righteous choices, but he can try to make those things look foolish, restrictive, hopeless, or pointless. BUT, not every confident voice out there deserves our confidence.
Now you may want to make the point that we’re not talking about sincere questions, honest doubts, or difficult and sensitive issues in Church history, doctrine, or policy that deserve to be studied carefully, discussed honestly, and approached with both faith and humility. No, what we’re talking about here are manipulative voices. Voices that mock, exaggerate, threaten, or misrepresent. In my experience, those are the voices we hear most often. Rarely do I hear an opposing voice motivated by honest inquiry or fairness.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Where in your own life have you seen evidence of these arguments?
What is the difference between challenging someone to think and pressuring someone to surrender?
THE SOLUTION:
Now there’s a lot of things that we could point to as solutions in this story—what we do when our faith is attacked, and you may want to pull in certain aspects of the NEXT lesson into this one if you have time. You could discuss the power of the temple, trusting in the prophet, prayer, but for this lesson, I might just focus on one particular solution to manipulative, faith challenging attacks. And that’s the solution we find in 18:36.
“But the people held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king’s commandment was, saying, Answer him not.”
Be sure to make the point that we don’t need to feel obligated to wrestle with every argument or attack that we encounter. Sometimes the best tactic will be to just ignore them. Hold your peace. We don’t have to engage with every doubt, temptation, or question the adversary throws at us. Instead we can seek to stay away from those people, places, and things that seek to tear down our faith. We don’t have to listen to them or respond. For the people of Jerusalem, their silence didn’t mean they had no questions or that they were incapable of answering. It meant they refused to allow Rab-shakeh to control the conversation. Now sometimes faithfulness means speaking courageously. Sometimes it means asking hard questions and seeking honest answers. But oftentimes it means recognizing that a hostile voice is no longer helping us find truth and refusing to give it additional space in our minds. Their silence was the first victory of the siege.
If you aren’t able to teach the second lesson from this week, I would be sure to then take my students to 2 Kings 19:32-36 to show them what eventually happened. The Lord promised the people of Jerusalem that not a single arrow would be shot at them. And the next day, the angel of the Lord goes out and smites the vast majority of the Assyrian army, and the rest pack up and go home. The Lord helped them! And he will help us to. We also can be victorious against our modern Rab-Shakeh’s, with the Lord’s help.
TAKE IT TO HEART:
Invite students to consider the voices that receive the most access to their confidence.
These voices may come through:
Friends
Social media
Entertainment
Advertising
Temptation
Criticism
Their own repeated negative thoughts
People who genuinely care about them
Prophets, scriptures, parents, and trusted leaders
The Holy Ghost
I WILL GO AND DO:
Then for an I will go and do, I like to give my students some actionable advice for dealing with the voices and arguments of the world. Instead of surrendering, they can:
Examine the fruit: Is this message leading me toward truth, or primarily toward fear, cynicism, distrust, and surrender?
Seek a genuine answer: Choose one genuine question and seek an answer through scripture, prayer, reliable sources, and a trusted person rather than through voices that mock or pressure.
Replace the voice: Identify one repeated negative message and answer it with a scripture, prophetic teaching, or truth you already know.
Hold your peace: Choose not to engage one argument, comment thread, or provocation that is unlikely to produce understanding or truth.
TAKEAWAY:
Out takeaway slide reminds our students to “Beware the voice outside the wall” with the subtext, “Don’t surrender, not every voice deserves your confidence”. Then you could conclude by saying something like: Rab-shakeh stood outside the wall, but his real target was inside the people. He wanted his voice to become their fear, their doubt, and eventually their surrender. But they held their peace. They didn’t allow his confidence to determine theirs. You too are going to hear many voices in your life many which are specifically designed to weaken your faith. Not every voice that reaches you deserves a place within you. Sometimes the first victory is refusing to let the voice outside the wall become the voice inside your head. Don’t surrender.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
For a video suggestion, if you have time, a nice way to end the class would be to have a special musical number. A great hymn that matches the spirit of this lesson would be to sing or show a performance of hymn #254 “True To the Faith”. It’s triumphant, it’s powerful, and it emphasizes the importance of standing strong in the face of opposition. I’ll provide a link in the video description to a great performance of the hymn by the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square.
QUOTE:
From President Joseph F. Smith:
“Now, we are thankful to the Lord that we are counted worthy to be taken notice of by the devil. I would fear very much for our safety if we had fallen into a condition where the devil ceased to be concerned about us. So long as the Spirit of the Lord is enjoyed by you, so long as you are living your religion, and keeping the commandments of the Lord, walking uprightly before him, I assure you that the adversary of souls will not rest easy; he will be discontented with you, will find fault with you, and he will arraign you before his bar; but that will not hurt you very much if you will just keep on doing right.”
Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, 77–78
HANDOUT:
As an optional handout suggestion for this week, you may want to provide students with the accompanying kings and prophets timeline. It can be difficult to keep track of the divided kingdoms, the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests, and where the different prophets fit into the story. This handout gives students a simple big-picture view of that history and may be especially helpful as you prepare to study Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and other prophets in the coming months. You could briefly walk through it at the beginning of class, invite students to keep it in their scriptures, or simply use it as a reference whenever a new king, kingdom, or prophet is introduced.
LESSON #2 THE CITY IN THE CIRCLE (2 Kings 18-19)
TRUTH:
When a challenge is bigger than I am, if I bring it to the Lord and trust in His help, then I can stand firm.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
There are going to be moments in life when the problem in front of us is clearly bigger than we are. We may be able to prepare, plan, work, and seek good counsel, but eventually we reach the limits of our own strength. Hezekiah’s story teaches us what faithful people do at that point. They don’t deny the reality of the battle, instead they bring the battle into the presence of the Lord. Hezekiah took the threatening letter of the Assyrian captain, carried it into the temple and spread it before God. That’s the heart of the lesson. Our students may be carrying “letters” or great challenges of their own. This lesson can help them feel that they don’t have to carry those things alone and what they CAN do about it.
OBJECT:
An ammo box. I know I suggested this as an object in one of our Joshua lessons earlier this year, but I find it works well for this lesson also. You’re also going to want to gather up a number of other items that represent the ammunition that God gives us to face our challenges that match up with the people of Jerusalem in our story.
My recommendations: A small plant or a packet of seeds for faith, a CTR ring for obedience, a temple recommend or picture of a temple for temple worship, a picture of the prophet for following prophets, and a picture of hands in the prayer position for prayer. Now to help you out a little, in this week’s downloads I’ll provide a handout where you can print pictures of each of these objects if that’s easier for you. I mean, you really don’t need an actual ammunition box or physical objects to make this work. A small container and the printable images will do the job just as well. But if you can find actual objects, that can be effective too.
Link to purchase ammo box: https://amzn.to/44usZTa
ICEBREAKER:
For the icebreaker, display a few unusual or humorous maps and explain that maps can do more than show us where places are—they can also tell a story.
Then display Bible Map 5, showing the Assyrian Empire during 2 Kings 18–19. Invite students to study it and share what they notice. Draw their attention to Assyria’s enormous expansion and then to the small border surrounding Jerusalem.
Explain that nearly every nation around Jerusalem had fallen, including the northern kingdom of Israel. Yet this tiny area remained unconquered.
Write this question on the board:
How did this tiny city remain standing when nearly everything around it fell?
Do not answer it yet. Let the rest of the lesson solve the mystery.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
For this lesson, we’re going to only give our students the background they need to understand the crisis. Assyria was the dominant military power of the region. It had already conquered the northern kingdom of Israel and carried many of its people away. Now the Assyrian army had moved against Judah. Jerusalem was surrounded, badly outnumbered, and facing an enemy with a long record of victory.
Hezekiah had no realistic military reason to believe that his city would survive.
You may also want to briefly summarize the Assyrian threats in 2 Kings 18 that we talked about in the previous lesson, but we’re not going to focus on them in depth this time. Suffice it to say that Rab-shakeh mocked their faith, told the people not to trust Hezekiah, reminded them that every other nation had fallen, and demanded that they surrender.
Then ask:
What do faithful people do when the problem is clearly bigger than they are?
Explain that students are going to search Hezekiah’s story for the answer.
SEARCH ACTIVITY:
Now we invite our students to study what Hezekiah and his people did under those threatening circumstances. This is where you pull out the ammo box tell them that inside you have 5 different items or pictures that represent what the people of Jerusalem used to fight back against the Assyrians. Explain that Jerusalem’s walls were not its only defenses. Hezekiah and his people had spiritual resources that helped them stand when the Assyrians surrounded them. Their job is to discover and guess what those 5 things were. This is an activity that could be completed either individually, in pairs, or in small groups. But you’ll give them the following handout that lists the references where the “ammo” is found with spaces for them to write their answers to the following three questions.
What did Hezekiah or the people do?
How would that help someone facing an overwhelming problem?
What object or picture do you think might be inside the ammo box?
Once they’ve had sufficient time to study, go through each of the references and ask various students to share what they discovered. This should open the way for some meaningful discussion about how those things protect or help us through overwhelming circumstances. You can also reveal each of the items in the ammo box and let students discover whether they guessed the right object. You could make it a contest if you wanted and give a reward to the individuals who got the most right if you felt a competitive element might help.
TEACHER MOMENT:
But one thing I would do is I would be sure to spend a little more time focused on what happens in 2 Kings 19:14-19. It’s the section on prayer, and I think this would be an appropriate moment for you as the teacher to just share some thoughts on that moment. It’s a scene that really packs an emotional punch on it. And I might say something like this:Notice what Hezekiah does when he receives the threatening letter from the captain of the Assyrian army. He reads it, carries it into the house of the Lord, and spreads it before Him. He doesn’t deny the danger or pretend everything’s fine, but he doesn’t just sit there worrying about or falling into despair. He faces the problem honestly and refuses to carry it alone.
That has got to be one of the most beautiful images of prayer in all scripture. Faith doesn’t ignore the battle or the tough situation; but it does bring the battle to God. Hezekiah couldn’t control the Assyrian army, but he could choose what to do with the fear and the burden it placed on him. He brought the whole matter into the presence of the Lord and trusted Him with it.
Invite students to think quietly about the “letters” that they may be carrying—the fears, decisions, temptations, disappointments, questions, or burdens that feel too large for them. Spreading those things before the Lord may mean naming them honestly in prayer, asking specifically for His help, and trusting Him with the outcome. The problem may not disappear immediately, but they don’t have to carry those things alone.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Which of Jerusalem’s spiritual defenses stands out most to you?
What do you feel is the difference between bringing a problem to the Lord and merely worrying about it?
THE RESULTS:
Now for the fun part. We get to show them what happened because they were willing to do all those things—to use that spiritual ammo. Simple question. What were the results of their actions? Read the following verses as the teacher and allow them to point out what the Lord did for them. You could also invite them to mark those things in their scriptures.
2 Kings 18:7. The Lord was with him. He prospered.
2 Kings 19:20. The Lord heard Hezekiah.
2 Kings 19:25. He helped and blessed righteous people in the past; he will do the same for you.
2 Kings 19:32-34. The Lord promised him that their enemies would NOT come into the city. In fact, they wouldn’t even shoot an arrow there. The Lord would defend the city, and the Assyrians would end up returning the way they came.
2 Kings 19:35 Then you could briefly explain the outcome in verse 35. The Assyrian army woke up dead, basically, and Jerusalem remained standing. Those that were left, simply packed up and went home. Not a single arrow was fired at the walls of Jerusalem.
TAKE IT TO HEART:
Give students a quiet moment to consider this question:
Who is your “Assyrian army” or what is the “letter” you have been carrying? And their “army” or “letter” might be: A fear, a decision, a temptation, a family concern, a disappointment, a health problem, a doubt or question, a responsibility, or something they cannot control.
I WILL GO AND DO:
Then for the I will go and do, ask: Which spiritual ammunition from Hezekiah’s story might you use this week in your personal battle and how might you wield it?
You may allow a minute of silence or invite students to write privately in a journal.
You could also give a few suggestions:
Go to the house of the Lord: Make a plan to attend the temple, visit the temple grounds, or spend time thinking about temple covenants and promises.
Seek prophetic counsel: Find one recent prophetic message that speaks to the battle you are facing.
Spread the letter: Write down one burden and take it with you to personal prayer. Read it, name it honestly, and ask the Lord for help.
Stop carrying it alone: Speak with a trusted parent, leader, spouse, bishop, teacher, counselor, or friend about something that has become too heavy to carry privately.
TAKEAWAY:
To conclude the lesson, you’re going to want to take your students back to our map that we began the lesson with. Invite them to take one final look at that little circle around Jerusalem. Everything surrounding it seemed stronger. Assyria had the numbers, the weapons, the victories, and every visible advantage. But that city was being held by more than walls. Hezekiah trusted the Lord, used the spiritual strength God had given him, and then took the battle he could not carry into the temple and spread it before the Lord. There may be times when we feel just as surrounded, outnumbered, and hopeless. But that doesn’t mean that we’re abandoned. Bring the Lord your letters of opposition. Tell Him what you’re facing. Use the spiritual help He has given us, and trust Him with the outcome. We may not be able to control everything surrounding us, but we never have to face it alone. You can then display the takeaway slide that carries the message home. “Surrounded but not alone” it reminds us, and “the size of the enemy does not limit the power of God”.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
VIDEO:
A video you might show during this lesson is the following called “Heavenly Father Knows Me”. It portrays a young woman who is going through a difficult time, but she prays for help. In a sense, she spreads her letter before the Lord. And the Lord answers and helps and blesses her. Before you watch you could ask: What does her experience teach you about spreading a problem before the Lord?https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-12-0008-heavenly-father-knows-me?lang=eng&collection=adversity-topic
QUOTE:
From President Dieter F. Uchtdorf:“Rather than dwelling on the immensity of our challenges, would it not be better to focus on the infinite greatness, goodness, and absolute power of our God, trusting Him and preparing with a joyful heart for the return of Jesus the Christ?
As His covenant people, we need not be paralyzed by fear because bad things might happen. Instead, we can move forward with faith, courage, determination, and trust in God as we approach the challenges and opportunities ahead.” (“Perfect Love Casteth Out Fear,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 106)
LESSON #3 REDISCOVERING THE WORD (2 Kings 21-23)
TRUTH:
When we open God’s word, it can open our hearts.
FIRE IN THE BONES:
As someone who deeply, deeply loves the scriptures and believes in their power to change and bless people, it’s easy for me to get a fire in the bones for this lesson. One of the most hopeful messages in Josiah’s story is that God’s word can reach people even when truth has been neglected, forgotten, or buried beneath years of other influences. This lesson offers us a chance to ignite in our students a curiosity and a desire to give the scriptures another look. To help them dig more deeply and meaningfully into the scriptures than they have before and promise them the incredible blessings that are sure to come by doing so.
OBJECT:
For an object lesson and possible icebreaker, if possible, before class, gather a few sets of scriptures that have been sitting unclaimed in the ward-library lost and found. I can almost promise you that you will find a few. You could hold them up and tell them that they are a set of scriptures that have been left behind and unused for a long time. As a seminary teacher, I always have dozens of scripture sets left behind by students from the past. And they never come back to claim them. They still contain the word of God. They still belong to someone. But at the moment, they are not doing their owners much good because they have been lost and left unopened.
Then you can ask, “Is it possible for us to own scriptures and still lose them? How?” And the point is that we may know exactly where our scriptures are physically and yet allow them to become lost to us spiritually. They may sit on a shelf, remain unopened in an app, or become so familiar that we stop listening to what they say. That was the condition of Judah in Josiah’s day. The Book of the Law still existed, but its words had been lost to the lives of the people. This is the story of how they rediscovered the scriptures not only physically, but more importantly, spiritually.
ICEBREAKER:
For an optional icebreaker activity, you might show your students a picture of a Torah scroll and briefly describe the care and reverence many Jewish communities show when reading and handling scripture. If you’d like more of my thoughts on that idea, I’ll refer you to the very last few minutes of the insight video where I discuss that thought. Ask students what that kind of treatment communicates about how the people feel about the word of God. Then ask, “What do our habits with the scriptures communicate about how much we value them?”
SEARCH ACTIVITY/VIDEO:
To get them into the story, introduce Josiah by briefly explaining the spiritual situation he inherited.
Josiah’s grandfather Manasseh and his father Amon had led Judah deeply into idolatry. Altars to false gods had been placed throughout the land, and even inside the temple precincts. The worship of Jehovah had been so thoroughly neglected that Josiah did not initially have the Book of the Law to guide him. He knew that things were wrong, but much of the knowledge of how to worship God correctly had been lost.
This makes Josiah’s story remarkable. He desired to do what was right even before he fully understood what right worship looked like.
What I would do next, then is show the Church video entitled “Josiah and the Book of the Law.” But before beginning, give students the following secret-phrase handout and explain that some of the answers will come from the film and others from the scriptures.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0040-josiah-and-the-book-of-the-law?lang=eng
When they’ve completed the handout, not only will they have a good understanding of the story, but they should be better prepared to discuss the power of the principles it teaches. petitioning
For adult classes or settings where a fill-in-the-blank handout may feel unnecessary, you can still use the video by giving participants several broad things to watch for: What had Judah lost? What changed when the Book of the Law was found? How did Josiah respond when the scriptures revealed that the nation had drifted? What did he rebuild, remove, and restore? Those observations can lead naturally into the discussion without requiring a worksheet.
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
First of all, have some of your students share their answers to the last question that appears on the handout. That question was: What evidence have you seen in your life that this statement is true? The statement being: The scriptures have the power to change lives.
Other questions you might ask:
Which of Josiah’s responses impresses you most? Why?
What is the difference between reading scripture and receiving scripture?
What did Josiah remove after hearing the word of God, and what might we need to remove so God’s word can have greater influence in our lives?
What did Josiah restore after hearing the word of God, and what might we need to restore so God’s word can have greater influence in our lives?
TAKE IT TO HEART:
What is a scripture verse, story, or character that has changed or profoundly influenced you in some way? Please share.
I WILL GO AND DO:
What is one small change you could make this week to help the scriptures become a more meaningful part of your life?
Suggestions:
If you’ve been neglecting scripture study altogether, start today! Even if it’s only for a few minutes each day.
Begin scripture study with a prayer asking for God’s help and guidance.
Read fewer verses but think about them more deeply.
Restore a scripture habit that used to work well for you.
TAKEAWAY:
The takeaway slide shows the Book of the Law emerging from the dust, but it also shows our modern scriptures. The caption encourages them to “Rediscover the Word”. Josiah’s story reminds us that the real miracle was not simply that an old book was found in the temple. The miracle was that its words found their way into a tender heart. Josiah heard them, humbled himself, made a covenant, removed what stood between the people and God, and restored what had been lost. The same thing can begin in us. The scriptures are not merely a chore waiting to be completed. They are the voice of a loving God helping us find our way home. So this week, do more than find time to open the scriptures. Open your heart as well. Let one truth reach you. Let it show you what needs to be removed and what needs to be restored.
OPTIONAL LESSON ENHANCEMENTS:
QUOTE:
For a quote, I’ll suggest one of my favorites from the prophet Joseph Smith. He said:
“He who reads them oftenest, will like them best”
(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 56)
INSIGHTS
MAPS AND AMMO BOXES
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker I’d like to talk about maps, and just for fun I might display a few examples of some funny maps that I’ve found just as an attention getter. Here are a few that I found amusing. I am someone who has always been fascinated by maps. I love maps. There’s just something oddly satisfying and inherently interesting about a well-made map. It gives you perspective, it gives confidence in travel, it gives comfort in a way. Maps clarify the unknown and allow you to plan your pathway through any landscape. Now maps can teach you more than just how to get from point A to point B. I’ve found in my years of teaching that maps can teach principles as well. There is a map in the back of your Church produced version of the scriptures that contains a fascinating principle in it. It’s map #5. This map will be the focus of our study today. Now at first glance it doesn’t look like much. “Why should I care about the borders of the Assyrian Empire between 721 BC and 650 BC” you might ask. I think you should. The principle this map teaches may very well hold a key to your exaltation. What do you notice as you look at that map? For one, you’ll notice that the Assyrian empire greatly increases in size between those two dates. The Assyrians, during that time, are able to conquer a majority of the ancient world—everything from Mesopotamia in the east, to Turkey in the north, and all the way into Egypt in the South. But look very closely, and what else do you notice in that map? Look at this right here. Do you see this little, tiny circle or dotted borderline surrounding the city of Jerusalem? It labels it the Kingdom of Judah. Interesting huh. The Assyrians were able to conquer basically everything else in the ancient world, but not that one city. That one little area. Now why is that? That’s the money question today. And there are two men’s names that you really need to know in order to understand that border. They are Isaiah and Hezekiah. Isaiah is the prophet at this time, and Hezekiah the King of Judah. Now I’m sure you’ve all heard of Isaiah before, and we’re going to be studying his book in depth in later this year, but have you ever heard of King Hezekiah? He’s not as well-known a personality in the Old Testament, but I think he should be! He was one of the greatest kings of all time.
A LITTLE HISTORY
I want to help you to understand why Hezekiah was such a great king. We really need some context to comprehend his greatness. You may remember a few weeks ago that we discussed the splitting of the Israelite nation. No longer do we have one kingdom united under a single king, but two: the Kingdom of Israel, and the Kingdom of Judah. The split came under Solomon’s son Rehoboam. The northern tribes, ten of them, rebel against Rehoboam and choose a man named Jeroboam to be their king. Now we have two kings to keep track of at a time. I don’t want to spend too much time getting bogged down in the history, but perhaps this chart can help to give you a better overview and perspective of the Old Testament timeline. I’ll make this chart available as a handout. What it shows is a list and order of all the kings of both the Israelite and Judean kingdoms. Then you’ll see that there’s another column that shows all the different prophets that will be called during these times. You may also notice that one kingdom column is shorter than the other. That’s because the Kingdom of Israel will not last as long as the kingdom of Judah. The Kingdom of Israel is going to be conquered and scattered by the Assyrians right around this same time in 2 Kings when Hezekiah is the king of Judah. That’s how they become known as the lost ten tribes of Israel. The kingdom of Judah is going to last a little longer, but eventually it too will be conquered by the Babylonians. That takes place at the end of the book of 2 Kings. The people of Judah are also going to be scattered, but not forgotten. They eventually will return and reestablish themselves in Israel. We’ll talk about that next week in Nehemiah and Ezra. But what is the major cause of these kingdoms being destroyed? What is it that led to their demise? In a word—idolatry. You may remember at the beginning of this year another map lesson that we had where we discussed the reason for why God placed the Israelites where he did? Right in the center of the ancient world, at the convergence of three continents. It was so that they could influence and bless spread the gospel message to all that were around them. The danger of that, was that the influence could work the other way as well. And that’s what happens. That’s the Old Testament problem. They really struggled with being influenced by the nations and the pagan religions of the nations that surround them. Now there is a term that you’re going to see all throughout this portion of Israelite history, and that term is “the high places”. What were these “high places”. High places were centers of worship for false gods, for idolatrous practices. Immorality and child sacrifice were often associated with these places. We read of high places being set up in both kingdoms initially under Solomon (1 Kings 11:6-8) and later Jeroboam I (1 Kings 12:28-33). But back to our initial question: What made Hezekiah so special? Well let’s see. What was he able to do that so many others could not? Now what I’m going to do is give you the name of a King and a scripture reference. And the question is, did they remove the high places?
1 Kings 15:14 Asa—High places remain.
1 Kings 22:43 Jehoshaphat—Still there.
2 Kings 10:29 Jehu—Still there.
2 Kings 12:3 Joash—Still there. A
2 Kings 14:4 Amaziah—Still there.
2 Kings 15:4 Jeroboam II—Still there.
2 Kings 15:35 Jotham—Still there.
2 Kings 16:4 Ahaz—Still there.
2 Kings 17:11 Hoshea—Still there
2 Kings 18:4 Hezekiah?
Ah. There we go. Look at what Hezekiah does here. Let’s take a look at the first four verses of this chapter.
Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign.
2 Twenty and five years old was he when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
3 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.
4 He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan.
So right off the bat you can see why I admire Hezekiah so much. Now Israel really has no righteous kings, while Judah has a number of mostly wicked kings, there are few righteous ones (Hezekiah being one, and a King named Josiah that we’ll talk about later today) and a whole string of ok kings, that weren’t necessarily wicked, but they wouldn’t break down the high places. They were too intimidated by the people to do so. But Hezekiah does something that no other King before him is really able to do, including his own father. He removes the high places. He destroys the false idols and helps the people return to a true worship of Jehovah in the temple. Now that should help us set the stage for the rest of our lesson here.
THE PROBLEM
Now here in 2 Kings 18, Hezekiah and his people have a big problem on their hands. What is it? Perhaps you could just scan verses 8-17 for the answer. What’s the big problem? The Assyrians. The Assyrians are conquering everything and everybody. In fact, in verse 11, you can see that this is the point that the kingdom of Israel, the northern 10 tribes are conquered and scattered. And now the kingdom of Judah is surrounded and outnumbered. The Assyrians have virtually conquered everybody else. Now Hezekiah does hold them off for a while by paying tribute, but that only lasts for so long. Eventually, the King of Assyria sends an army to lay siege to the city of Jerusalem. Hezekiah and the people decide not to surrender, but to find refuge behind the walls of Jerusalem—their only defense. They just don’t have the manpower or numbers to stand against the Assyrians. So that’s our setting here. Picture the city of Jerusalem surrounded by countless hosts of Assyrian soldiers. And that’s where we want to begin to liken the scriptures. And I help my students to make that transition by asking the following question: How is our situation today similar to the people of Jerusalem?
We too are surrounded by the enemy. We too seem to be outnumbered. Faithful disciples of Jesus Christ are few in comparison with the rest of the world. Our values are under siege. Our morality is under siege. Our beliefs are under siege. And who is attacking us? Who are our Assyrians? The influence of the world? Disbelief and cynicism? Temptation and sin? Perhaps those who strive to tear down our faith or lure us or our children into addictive and destructive behaviors. At first glance, our prospects as a people and Church may not look very hopeful or optimistic. What’s a believer to do?
And at this point in the story, up to the walls of Jerusalem strolls the captain of the Assyrian army, a man named Rab-shakeh. And he’s going to try to convince the people to give up, to surrender, to allow themselves to be captured and conquered.
And who would Rab-shakeh be a type of, or a symbol for? Who is it that tries to get us to surrender to give in to their influence? Satan, right? He’s the leader of our opposition.
IN YOUR OWN WORDS
Now here’s what I’d like you to do in this next section. I want you to look for parallels between the arguments Rab-shakeh uses to try and get the people of Jerusalem to surrender, and the arguments the adversary and the world use to try and get us to give up—to give up on our faith and our obedience. I’ll give you a set of verses, and you put the worldly argument you see in them in your own words.
19 And Rab-shakeh said unto them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria, What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?
20 Thou sayest, (but they are but vain words,) I have counsel and strength for the war. Now on whom dost thou trust, that thou rebellest against me?
21 Now, behold, thou trustest upon the staff of this bruised reed, even upon Egypt, on which if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt unto all that trust on him.
22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?
What’s the argument here? Here’s how I would put it. “Your faith in God is vain.” Rab-shakeh asks, “What confidence is this wherein thou trustest?” Another word for confidence would be faith. Satan has always been and always will be anti-faith. “You think you can stand against me?” he taunts, “You think you’re strong enough to resist. Just who do you think you are? Your faith can’t save you.” Does the world ever use this argument against us? Is faith in an unseen God mocked and scoffed at. A belief in miracles, spiritual gifts, angels, gold plates, and revelation will always seem foolish to the unbelieving. “It’s silly to have confidence, trust, or faith in these things.”
Then in verses 26-28 you have this interesting interchange between the Judean leaders and Rab-shakeh. Rab-shekeh is speaking in Hebrew to them. And so the leaders plead with him to speak in Assyrian. They’re worried that the soldiers on the wall or the people in the city might hear his words and be intimidated by them. And do you think that’s going to deter him from his tirade? No, it doesn’t. It just emboldens him, and he scoffs even more at them and says something rather vulgar to suggest that they’ll eventually starve to death and insists on speaking in Hebrew.
Now what’s his argument in your own words in verses 29-31?
29 Thus saith the king, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall not be able to deliver you out of his hand:
30 Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, The Lord will surely deliver us, and this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.
31 Hearken not to Hezekiah:
What’s his argument? Don’t listen to your leaders. They’re deceiving you. They’re wrong. Hearken not to Hezekiah. Does the world make this argument to us? You bet. Don’t listen to those old men in Salt Lake. Don’t listen to your local church leaders. They have ulterior motives. They’re just trying to control you. They don’t know what they’re talking about. They’re too old-fashioned, prudish, and behind the times. Their teachings won’t save you. Hearken not.
Then what’s the main gist of the argument in :31-32
for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
32 Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, that ye may live, and not die: and hearken not unto Hezekiah, when he persuadeth you, saying, The Lord will deliver us.
Oooh. This is such a good one. Give up, join us, and your life will be better. Do you hear how Rab-shakeh is trying to convince them how much better it will be for them if they just surrender? Make an agreement with me, and you’ll eat from your own vine, and your own fig tree. Yeah. If you give in, everything is going to be ok. I’ll treat you well. But in the very next verse he says, “until I come and take you away to another land. A land of oil and honey and bread and vineyards.” Of course, he’s whispering under his breath, “Yes, you’ll be our slaves, we’ll control every aspect of your life) but things will be so much better with us.” Does Satan do the same thing? He always promises freedom out of one side of his mouth, while he hides his chains of sin behind his back. As soon as we surrender and come out from behind our walls of obedience and faith, he starts to wrap us up in the chains of spiritual bondage, consequence, and addiction. The adversary does a very good job of luring and enticing people into surrendering their righteousness. He makes worldly lifestyles and attitudes, and opinions look inviting, liberating, and progressive. But spiritual slavery and captivity are what lurks behind it all.
And finally, what’s the argument you see in verses 33-35?
33 Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
34 Where are the gods of Hamath, and of Arpad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand?
35 Who are they among all the gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of mine hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of mine hand?
In my own words: Others have fallen and so will you. Satan will often try to persuade us to surrender because “everyone else is doing it”. Or he tries to point to examples of other people who have given up or given in to persuade us to do the same. So and so had faith and look what happened to them. This person fell, you think you’re better than them? I got them, and I’ll get you too. Intimidation and fear are some of the adversary’s greatest weapons.
Now has the adversary ever used any of these arguments against you? Have you ever heard the taunts of today’s Rab-shakeh’s in your own life? I’m sure you have. So what can we do about it? I’ll tell you what we can do. We can follow the example of Hezekiah and his people. Contrary to what the Rab-shakeh’s say, we do have some weapons of our own. We have protection and sources of strength that we can turn to in times of challenge.
AMMO BOXES
At this point in the story, I like to do a little object lesson. Years ago I found this item at a military surplus store, and I bought it. Do you know what it is? It’s an ammo box. Soldiers would carry ammunition or bullets in these containers. When the enemy came to attack them, they could open these boxes and replenish their ammunition. If you have a military surplus store nearby you, I can almost guarantee that they will have these available for a small price. If not, amazon has them available as well, and I’ll put a link in the video description below if you’re interested (
Link to purchase ammo box: https://amzn.to/44usZTa
But then I make the point that Hezekiah and his people had some ammunition of their own. There are things that helped them to stand strong in the face of the overwhelming power of the Assyrian army. I’m going to give you a number of verses to study and I want you to look for the things Hezekiah or his people did to fight back against the Assyrians. What gave them strength? Here are the references. And then once they find things, I invite students to come forward and write those things on the board. And inside my ammo box, I have some items and pictures that I pull out as my students identify things. And if they identify something that I don’t have an item for, that’s all right, just allow them to write that thing up on the board. But what do you see?
Verses to study 18:5-6, 18:36, 19:1, 19:5, 19:6, 19:14-19
18:5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. Faith was part of his ammo. So out of my box I’ll pull a little plant. One of my favorite symbols for faith. Faith is like a little seed that, if nourished, will grow into a beautiful and fruitful tree of testimony. Faith is a powerful weapon against evil. We don’t just rely only on what we can see with our own two eyes, but we believe in things that we can feel with our hearts and be inspired by in our minds.
18:6 He clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments. What’s the weapon? Obedience. A commitment or cleaving to ovedience is a powerful weapon against evil. At this point I like to pull a CTR ring out of my ammo box. When we make covenants or promises to choose the right and observe the Lord’s commandments and counsels, we make ourselves strong in the face of the enemy.
18:36 The people held their peace and answered him not a word. Ignoring the taunts of the adversary can be a great tactic in our fight against Satan. Out of my ammo box I might pull a picture of someone with their hands over their ears. Remember that you don’t have to engage with every argument or attack you encounter. Sometimes the best tactic will be to just ignore. Hold your peace. You don’t have to engage with every doubt, temptation, or question the adversary throws at you. Stay away from those people, places, and things that seek to tear down your faith. You don’t have to listen to them or respond.
19:1 Hezekiah went into the house of the Lord. What’s one of the best places you can go for strength in challenging times? The temple. The temple is a house of refuge—of protection. Pull out a temple recommend or a picture of a temple. Frequent temple attendance and worship can really help us to stay strong in the face of opposition. Remember what Hezekiah did at the beginning of the chapter? He reestablished the temple as the center of worship for his people. He gets rid of the high places and destroys the idols. The temple becomes the focal point of the people’s faith once again.
19:5 Who was Isaiah to these people? Their prophet. They went to the prophet for counsel. I suggest we do the same. Trust in and rely on the teachings and leadership of the living prophets. At this point, I pull out a picture of the current president of the church or quorum of the twelve apostles. We can find strength in hearkening to their counsels and listening to their teachings.
19:15 Prayer can help us. Pull out a picture of someone praying or hands in the prayer pose. God can help us if we reach out to him. Prayer can give us power. Ask and ye shall receive. And Hezekiah’s prayer here is worth reviewing here.
14 And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said, O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.
16 Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.
17 Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,
18 And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.
19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.
Hmmm. Beautiful prayer and plea. You really get a sense of Hezekiah’s faith in those verses don’t you.
One more set of verses that don’t come from 2 Kings that I’d like to show you here. But you’ll see in the footnotes on page 536 a cross reference to 2 Chronicles 32. Now the books of Chronicles are really a bit of a repeat of the events of 1 and 2 Kings but with some different details. And 2 Chronicles 32:6-8 offer us this fantastic description of what Hezekiah says to his people:
6 And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him:
8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Now isn’t that a great description of the power of faith. I love Hezekiah as a Bible character. Such a great man.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Well let’s take a moment again and seek to liken the scriptures here. Have you ever used any of this ammo successfully in your battles with the world, temptation, and the adversary? How has one of these things helped you to stand strong and not surrender?
What other items do you have in your ammo box that have helped you? I’d probably pull out the scriptures and my patriarchal blessing as well
THE RESULTS
Well what’s the rest of the story then? It’s all fine and good to have faith and listen to the prophet, but there is still the reality of that Assyrian army out there. What’s going to happen. This is so cool.
What happened to Hezekiah and his people? Let’s take a look at these things together.
18:7 And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.
19:20 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.
So Isaiah reassures Hezekiah that God heard him.
19:25 Hast thou not heard long ago how I have done it, and of ancient times that I have formed it? now have I brought it to pass, that thou shouldest be to lay waste fenced cities into ruinous heaps.
The Lord reassures them that he has heard his servants in the past and blessed them in their battles. I helped them and they conquered. What I did for them, I can do for you too. That’s one of the reasons I think the Lord gave us the scriptures. They are there to show us what God has done for others, and to implicitly suggest that he will do the same for us.
And then this is great. The Lord makes Hezekiah a promise.
32 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.
33 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.
34 For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
Now that’s one heck of a promise. I will defend this city. Don’t worry Hezekiah. They won’t even shoot an arrow at you. When I was growing up, prominently displayed on a bookcase in our home was this greenish looking ancient arrowhead. My dad found it at an antique shop in Jerusalem on one of his travels there. Curious about it he asked the shopkeeper about its origin. “It’s Assyrian,” he answered, “twenty-seven hundred years old, but it was not found here in Jerusalem.” Now we know why right? God promised Hezekiah that the Assyrians would not even shoot an arrow at Jerusalem. My Dad bought that arrowhead as a reminder of the promise of God’s protection over those who stand strong and refuse to surrender to the influence of the world.
Well what happened to the Assyrians then?
35 And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
I find it kind of funny how that’s worded there. So they woke up dead the next morning. God fought their battles for them. The Assyrians never do attack Jerusalem.
TRUTH
If I trust in the Lord’s ammunition (obedience, temples, prophets, prayer, etc.) then the Lord help me, and I will win my battles.
CONCLUSION
So let’s go back to the map. Does this mean more to you now? That little circle around Jerusalem speaks volumes, doesn’t it? Do you see why it’s such a powerful map to look at? What’s the message of the map? It doesn’t matter how powerful the enemy looks, how many others he’s conquered, how forceful his words are, if we stay true to our faith, we will stand firm and not be overcome. So I hope that name Hezekiah becomes a more household name in the Church after this Come Follow Me lesson. Let’s not forget the great lesson that his life and example hold for us.
POWER OF PERSONAL PRAYER
Now there’s another little story about Hezekiah in chapter 20 that I just want to mention really briefly here. Hezekiah gets sick, and Isaiah the prophet shows up and gives him a really encouraging message. He says, “Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.” Well that sounds pretty final there, and it is a prophet speaking. But Hezekiah doesn’t just leave it at that. So what happens:
2 Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the Lord, saying,
3 I beseech thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
4 And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that the word of the Lord came to him, saying,
5 Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the captain of my people, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on the third day thou shalt go up unto the house of the Lord.
6 And I will add unto thy days fifteen years; and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city for mine own sake, and for my servant David's sake.
Isn’t that fascinating. Now I’m not comfortable in making any definitive doctrinal statement on the message of that story. But it could be that prayer is powerful enough to even change the Lord’s mind or plan for us? Could that be a principle here? His faith was such that God was willing to extend his life a bit. Maybe. Or, was this a trial of faith for Hezekiah, and the Lord wanted to see if he would have the faith to pray for help. I don’t know, but regardless, it is a story about the power of personal prayer. The Lord can do great things for us when we have the faith to ask for his help and intervention.
Another interesting little facet of this story is what the Lord shows Hezekiah as a sign that he will be healed. Remember the story of Gideon and the principle of fleeces? Here is another example of the Lord giving a reassurance to a person of faith. And so the Lord gives him a choice. He instructs him to go out to a sundial and observe the shadow. And God says, “Hezekiah, which would you like me to do. Move the shadow forward 10 degrees or backwards 10 degrees. You choose.” And Hezekiah says, “Hmmm, it’s kind of a bigger deal for the shadow to move backwards than forwards, I choose that.” And so he looks, and the shadow goes back 10 degrees. Now what I love about that, is that nobody but Hezekiah was probably going to notice that miracle. I mean, it is a big deal, moving the sun for him but 10 degrees really isn’t that much. This was a personal miracle and message just for Hezekiah. I believe the Lord can answers prayers like this for us too. He can answer with personal little miracles and messages that help to bolster our faith and fill us with reassurance. A discussion question you may ask your class? Has God ever given you a “sundial experience”? A personal answer or minor miracle just for you? Please share.
KING JOSIAH
ICEBREAKER
There is another great king of Judah that I hope we recognize as well after this week. And that is King Josiah. Like Hezekiah, he too grew up under the influence of a wicked father and grandfather who reverted the children of Israel back to idol worship, even after the righteous reign of Hezekiah. You can read about that in 2 Kings chapter 21. It’s really sad to see how quickly the people could fall back into their wicked ways and return like a dog to their vomit, as the Proverb goes. Bad leaders can lead to bad nations. But Josiah is different. It’s important to keep something in mind before we go too deeply into this story. The wicked kings Manasseh and Amon all but destroy the worship and memory of Jehovah among the people. The law of Moses, the scriptures, temple worship, all are basically eradicated under their reign. So when Josiah comes to power, he doesn’t even really know the right way to worship God. All that has been lost.
So for an icebreaker, I would direct you to a little seminary film that the Church produced a number of years ago. It does an excellent job of helping your students understand the major message of Josiah’s life. I’ll provide you with link to watch this video above here and in the description below. It’s called, “Josiah and the Book of the Law.” (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2011-03-0040-josiah-and-the-book-of-the-law?lang=eng)
SEARCH
To help your students get more out of the film, you could give them this secret phrase activity handout to fill in as they watch the film and study the scriptures. Part of the answers come from the film, and part come from the scriptures themselves. The secret phrase contains a great truth that I feel this story teaches us.
FROM THE MOVIE
Before Josiah was king, his fathers had built _______ for Baal and Molech where child sacrifices were performed. ALTARS
After Josiah was made king, he decided to repair the __________. TEMPLE
Even though Josiah sought to restore the true worship of Jehovah again, he feared he wouldn’t be able to change the _________ of the people and turn them away from their idols. HEARTS
While working on the temple, the ______ of the Law was found. BOOK
After hearing the words of the Lord that had been found, Josiah feared the ________ of the Lord would be kindled against the people for their years of disobedience. WRATH
The King decided to _________ the words of the Book of the Law in the ears of all the people. READ
After hearing Josiah, the people made a _______________ to turn to the Lord. COVENANT
During a battle with the Egyptians, King Josiah was struck by archers and later _____. DIED
Now I hate to just have my students watch a movie without engaging with the actual scriptures themselves. So after the movie, I instruct them to find a few more answers from the scriptures that will guide them to a few of the more significant verses from the story.
FROM THE SCRIPTURES
In 2 Kings 22:19-20 we hear the Lord promise Josiah great blessings because he had ___________ himself before the Lord. HUMBLED
After hearing the words of the book of the law, the people made a covenant to walk after the Lord, and keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with ____ their heart and soul. (2 Kings 23:3) ALL
2 Kings 23:4-20 describes all of King Josiah’s efforts to destroy the practice of ___________ out of the kingdom. IDOLATRY
2 Kings 23:25 gives Josiah a great tribute. Apparently, Josiah is considered to be ____________ King of all the Kings of Judah. GREATEST
TRUTH
What’s the secret phrase then? THE SCRIPTURES HAVE THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES
That’s what happens in this story, isn’t it. It was the scriptures that had the power to change the people. It wasn’t until the scriptures were read to them that they were able to leave behind their former lives and evil practices. The scriptures changed them. King Josiah also deserves part of the credit as he was the one who was willing to teach the people the scriptures and led them by example and invitation to commit themselves to make a covenant to live according to laws of God. The scriptures in the hands of great teachers and leaders can make a huge difference in people’s lives.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Have your students share what they wrote in response to the final question on the handout:
What evidence have you seen in your life that this statement is true?
Well, you don’t have to work too hard to convince me of this principle. I know that it’s true. I have seen it with my own eyes over and over again. The scriptures have power. If people will just value them, and open them, and study them, and apply them, I can promise them that they will have a profound and life changing impact on them. I know they have for me. I love the scriptures. I’ve been teaching from their pages almost daily now for the past 23 years, and you know what, I’m not tired of them yet. I’m nowhere near that point and quite honestly, don’t think I’ll ever tire of them. I know you’ve heard me share this before, but I don’t mind repeating that I believe the scriptures to be more relevant than any newspaper or magazine, more fascinating than any Harry Potter or Tom Clancy novel, more practical than any self-help book, and more instructive and educational than any textbook. And it seems that the Jewish people really learned something from their greatest king. I believe that every religion has something to teach us, and we could all afford to have a little more holy envy for the strengths demonstrated by other faiths. One of the things that I love most about the Jewish people is their incredible love and respect for scripture. If you go to a synagogue or to Israel, you may get a chance to see the way the rabbis read from the scriptures. They carefully remove the Torah scrolls from their cases, then walk slowly and solemnly with them cradling them in their arms like a small child. Then, they gently unroll and read from them with great reverence and respect on their lips. There is so much love and affection for the word of God. There is even a special ceremony and a kind of funeral, when a Torah is considered to be too old and needs to be retired. They take that Torah and bury it almost as if it were a person. Does our love of the scriptures compare with their respect and love for the Torah? And we have so much more! We have the Book of Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price. I feel we would do well to learn from their example and develop and deep and abiding love for the word of God. I'd like to conclude with my favorite thing that Joseph Smith ever said about the scriptures. He said, "He who reads [them] oftenest will like [them] best." If we take the time to study and value the scriptures, we will develop a love for his word that will bless us for a lifetime. Both Joseph Smith and Josiah understood that.
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